Truth – The Divine Virtue

THERE is God everywhere and there is no second entity anywhere. God is the truth, the only truth. In every article or thing, God is, as the basis, as understanding and understandability, as the source of Divine light, as’ Atma. Know that All exists, has awareness and bliss because of the Atma which All is. Truth is a word that is frequently used on platforms but the concept is still very hazy and often mistakenly interpreted. In reality, man is afraid of probing into his own truth, lest his pet opinions and attitudes be proved hollow and dangerous. As a result, his actions and thoughts pursue disturbing and discordant paths. What exactly is truth? Is it the description of a ‘thing seen’ as one has seen it, without exaggeration or under-statement? No. Or, the narration of an incident in the same word as one has heard it narrated? No. Truth elevates; it holds forth ideals; it inspires the individual and society. It is the Light that illumines Man’s path to God. A life inspired by Truth will enable man to live as man – not degrade himself to the status of a lower species. From dawn to dusk, from the moment of wakefulness to the moment of sleep, if he devotes himself to his own deeds, is that a life inspired by the Truth? No. By his good thoughts translated into good words and manifested as good deeds, man must promote Truth in society and prove its usefulness. He is the image of God. He must be aware of the image of God that shines in society also.

The thought that arises in the mind, the word that sprouts from the tongue and the deed that engages the hand must all three be fully co-ordinated. Each one must be in conformity with the other two. They must be in unison with each other. If you have one plan in your mind and talk of a different one and execute something else, it is a false life, not a true one. The ancient texts condemn such a person as a Dhuratma (evil person) and extol the person whose thought,Word and deed are all in line as a Mahatma (greatest soul). Nowadays, people are fascinated by the false and keep away from the true. They ignore the true and pursue the false. They are not eager to know the Truth, the eternal and the Absolute. 

Protect your mother-tongue and Motherland with all your energy. Make yourselves fit for this, by making the best use of the opportunities in the school. Progress as much as you can, without hesitation. Develop character as well as intelligence and health. The most reliable source of strength is in you, not in money, or kinsmen, or physical acumen, but, in yourself, the Atman (divinity). Know it; delve into it; draw sustenance from it; see it in all; serve it in all.

– Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The Practice of Truth

By

Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda

Early Morning Meditation Talk given in the Sacred Samadhi Hall of Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh

The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was a votary of truth. He used to declare, “They say that God is Truth. But I declare unto you, truth is God.” This would suggest that when Gurudev wants us take a vow of truthfulness, satyam, that if it is practised in all sincerity, then we become God. But what is involved in the practice of truth?

If we reflect upon it, we will recognise that we need to practice truth at three levels of our being. The first level of the practice of truth is the obvious one, of telling the truth to each other in our day by day affairs. To practise the truth to the standard of Mahatma Gandhi means that ultimately we become incapable of telling a lie. If by chance a lie should escape our lips, we become immediately aware of it and make the necessary correction.

The next level of truth is the practice of truth in our inner being. Gurudev said, “Scrutinise always your inner motives.” Normally, most of us have two reasons for doing something: One, a reason that sounds good to ourselves and others, and second, the real reason. We have to scrutinise carefully our inner motives, recognise what our real motives are, and never claim to be doing anything for other than our real motivation.

But there is a third level of truth that most of us find almost impossible to practice. And that is truth at the level of yoga. The scriptures can declare “That thou art,” we can affirm, “I am Brahman,” we can believe with our intellect that “All this is Brahman,” but to come to grips with the truth of it is something else altogether. It requires tremendous strength, tremendous clarity of intellect, tremendous devotion to the truth, tremendous will-power and, above all, the character built by the practice of truth with others and within ourselves.

It is this final practice of the truth that will convert us into the Divine. But it is an absolute practice and it is not a practice that we can do in the ordinary way. It is a practice–no matter how we describe it–of total letting go, total renunciation, total surrender, and it is affirming that the ultimate Truth is That which we can never grasp, in anyway, with the mind. The scriptures declare that we are That. But they also declare that That is unknowable and unthinkable. So to practise the real truth, we have to exchange that which we think we are for the truth that is unknowable by the mind.

It is this practice that brings us to the peace that is beyond understanding. It is this practice that results in total humility. We are nothing, but paradoxically, we are everything. We have given up everything; we gain everything. We had confusion; now we have clarity. It comes through the practice of truth at all levels of our being.

Satyam (Truth)

by Swami Sivananda

Introduction

Truth is the seat of God. Truth is God. Truth alone triumphs.

Truth is the basic law of life. Truth is the means and the goal ultimate.

Truth is the law of freedom, falsehood the law of slavery and death.

Truth is justice, fair play, adherence to the fundamental laws of ethics. Purity and truth are the twin factors that unfold and awaken the divinity that lies dormant within you and lead you to perfection.

Truthfulness is the first pillar in the Temple of God-realization. Truth is the gateway to the Kingdom of God.

Truth is like a ladder. It leads you to the Kingdom of Immortal Bliss.

The All-Inclusive Virtue

Speaking truth is the most important qualification of a Yogin. Truth is the queen of virtues. Truth is the supreme virtue.

Truth constitutes the essence of the Vedas. Control over passions constitutes the essence of truth. Self-denial or refraining from worldly enjoyments forms the essence of self-control. These attributes are always present in a virtuous man.

Truth is righteousness. Righteousness is light, and light is bliss. Ahimsa, Brahmacharya, purity, justice, harmony, forgiveness, peace are forms of truth.

Impartiality, self-control, modesty, endurance, goodness, renunciation, meditation, dignity, fortitude, compassion, and abstention from injury are the various forms of truth.

All the above virtues, though seemingly different, have but one and the same form, namely, truth. All these hold up truth and strengthen it.

When the path of truth is trodden, everything else also is done. When the root is watered, all the branches are automatically watered.

The Supreme Commandment

Be truthful. All righteousness is contained in this one commandment.

Whatever you do, be true to yourself and to the world. Hide not your thoughts. Be frank. Be sincere. Be candid. Be straightforward. Be courageous to express your views.

Be faithful to your trust. Deceive not the man who relies upon you. Keep up your promise even at the cost of your life. Your life may go, but not the given word.

Do not hastily give your assent to anybody, to anything. Think deeply. Cogitate. Reflect. Say, “I shall think over the matter and talk to you later on”. Thus you will not be entangled.

Do not make promises, but say, “I shall try. I shall think over the matter”. You are saved. You will not be caught in the whirlpool of troubles, repentance, and sorrow.

To tell a lie is a great sin. He who utters falsehood loses the faith of other persons. People will not believe him even if he speaks the truth. The habit of telling lies becomes deep-rooted by repetition of lies. Man tells several lies to cover up one lie.

A lie concealed by another lie leads to more lies. A sin concealed by another sin leads to more sins.

A liar is a coward. Uttering falsehood is a certain mark of cowardice. Speak the truth. You will become courageous.

Truth is Fearless and Strong

Truth is complete in itself. Truth has a strong foundation in itself. It is bold, it has no fears. It has no limit of space or time. It is a fearless, free bird in the sky. It does not care for status. It is wealth in itself. Truth stands even when there is no public support.

Truth can be compared to a road of pasture, while falsehood can be compared to a bush of thorns. In a man who indulges in false thoughts, there is a lurking fear at every moment, an uneasiness, a fear of the self, a want of confidence and a feeling that something wrong may happen.

Truth, on the other hand, is the path of righteousness which certainly leads to success in the long run. It is a straight road with no doubtful cross-roads.

In the day-to-day world, it seems as though it is impracticable to strictly follow the path of truth, but if it is practiced as your ideal and goal in life, you have your way. All the stumbling blocks on your road to Truth will melt away as you proceed along the direct road.

Certain Fallacies

There are certain fallacies that arise in following the straight path of truth. It is absolutely no harm for a mother who fondly nurses the child in just diverting the attention of the child by saying that the small piece of sweetmeat has been carried away by the crow a short while back, and when she shows to be extremely sorry for it and brings round the ideas of the child by saying, “Papa, do not mind it, I shall bring a bigger cake for you in the evening”. It is absolutely no untruth if you do not interfere with others, wound their feelings, harm others or spoil others. If you refuse a small loan, certainly with something for you to fall back upon, if you refuse to lend your pen or any object that you would like not to lend, these cannot be counted as untruths.